Friday, March 21, 2014

Steve Brown's letter to WBAI supporters

Dear WBAI Supporter –

Here is a video of Pacifica Executive Director Summer Reese using a bolt clipper to break the padlock installed at Pacifica HQ to keep her and the entire Pacifica staff from going back to work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvnV2no1Qs0

The padlock not only locked out Reese but the entire Pacifica staff, which ground the work of the foundation to a halt. As you know from my prior emails, Reese (who has a signed 3-year contract with Pacifica) was fired, without notice or cause, in a last-minute, late-night phone meeting of the national board, an action that 10 of the national board members have called illegal and are considering whether to fight in a lawsuit.

Reese was fired after she found evidence of embezzlement of at least $80,000 at KPFA, and demanded to see the foundation’s books. The KPFA faction and their allies on the national board refused to turn over the books. Instead they rushed to fire her. So far they have still not turned over the books, but Reese says she intends to pursue her investigation of the missing funds “wherever it may lead.”

As you may also know, the faction of the national board that fired Reese is rumored to be making a secret deal, on its own, for an outside takeover of WBAI by an entity tied to corporate broadcasting interests. The plan is supposedly for WBAI to be turned into an NPR-type venue that will support the centrist faction of the Democratic Party (much like MSNBC, which is already a Democratic Party mouthpiece) in time to support Hillary’s predicted campaign for the Presidency. The takeover faction is headed by a California lawyer and former Pacifica board member who says he wants to sell WBAI and dismantle the entire Pacifica network. Reese and her allies on the board have vowed to fight for the preservation of Pacifica.

Here is a link to a March 20 explanatory article in the Villager by former WBAI programmer and board member Paul DeRienzo.

Please excuse me if you have already seen this material (or may not care). I know many WBAI listeners have not seen it, and are confused by all the claims and counterclaims, so I have decided to err on the side of providing more information rather than less.

Please Support Andrea Sears' Reporting

Unemployment insurance is running out for Andrea Sears of Left Voices, former WBAI/Pacifica News Editor, who was part of the WBAI staff layoffs last August. Despite some promising interviews, Andrea does not have a job yet, and would really appreciate your support.